Thai Green Curry with Chicken (Gaeng Keow Wan Gai)
Photo: Abdul Raheem Kannath / Unsplash
A fragrant homemade green curry paste of green chillies, lemongrass, galangal and coriander, fried in coconut cream and simmered with chicken, Thai aubergine and basil. Hot, sweet, salty and aromatic all at once.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Make the curry paste
Blend or pound the green chilies, lemongrass, galangal (a ginger-like root), shallots, garlic, cilantro, cumin, ground coriander, shrimp paste and 2 lime leaves with a splash of water. Keep going until you have a smooth, bright green paste.
Cook the coconut cream
Spoon the thick cream from the top of the coconut can into a wok. Boil it over medium-high heat, stirring, for about 4 minutes, until the oil comes out of it and it looks a bit separated.
Fry the paste
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Add the chicken
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Simmer
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Balance and finish
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Make the curry paste
Blend or pound the green chilies, lemongrass, galangal (a ginger-like root), shallots, garlic, cilantro, cumin, ground coriander, shrimp paste and 2 lime leaves with a splash of water. Keep going until you have a smooth, bright green paste.
Cook the coconut cream
Spoon the thick cream from the top of the coconut can into a wok. Boil it over medium-high heat, stirring, for about 4 minutes, until the oil comes out of it and it looks a bit separated.
Fry the paste
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Add the chicken
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Simmer
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Balance and finish
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The Story Behind the Dish
Green curry — gaeng keow wan, "sweet green curry" — is one of the younger Thai curries, appearing in Bangkok cookbooks in the early 1900s. Its colour comes from fresh green chillies and herbs rather than dried red chillies.
The "sweet" in its name refers to the soft, bright green colour, not to sugar.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It's one of the most recognisable Thai dishes in the world, loved for its fresh, herbal heat balanced by creamy coconut.
💡 Fun Fact
Thai cooks "crack" the coconut cream — boiling it until the oil splits out — so the curry paste fries rather than stews, which deepens its flavour.
Central Thailand
13.76°N, 100.50°E
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